Born in Plantagenet, Ontario, the son of Henri de Montpellier Beaulieu and Berthe Lalonde, he was educated in Montreal and became a notary in 1956.

He ran unsuccessfully for the National Assembly of Quebec as a Union Nationale candidate for the riding of Montréal-Laurier in 1962. In 1966, he was the President of the Union Nationale's electoral campaign and was the Chief of Staff to Premier Daniel Johnson and Deputy Minister of Executive Council from 1966 to 1968. In 1968, he was the General Director of the Union Nationale.